Secrets & Sleepovers
by Mandi2341
Summary: Annabeth just had another fight with her parents, so she decides to get away from it by spending a weekend at Percy's appartment.  But some secrets come out...Can Percy and Annabeth handle each other's secrets?
1. A Friendlier Place

**Author's Note: I'd previously deleted this story, but everyone seemed to have been having so much fun reading this story, and I was having a ton of fun writing it, so I'm putting it back for everyone. And by the way, I was thinking about adding the Cold as Ice story back, too. If you even remember that story, please leave a review saying if you want it back or not. Thanks!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own PJO. I'm not Rick Riordan.**

Annabeth's POV

I was panting, my dagger in my hand. Thunder crashed in my ears. Rain poured down and I blinked, trying to clear my vision. My half-brothers Matthew and Bobby stared with their mouths open. I ran to them, but the hellhound blocked my way. "Matt! Bobby!" I yelled. Get inside! NOW!"

They stayed right where they were.

"GET—OUT—OF—THE—WAY!" I screamed.

The hellhound lunged at me. I dove aside and grabbed my little brothers. I wasn't sure what they were seeing, but it obviously terrified them into paralysis.

An earth-shattering BOOM threw me off my feet, head-over-heels. I smacked my head against the wall and glass shards rained down on my face. I tasted blood in my mouth. My family's new Long Island house now had a gaping hole in its west side. I knew my dad and stepmother would not be happy about that.

Slowly, I stood up. "Come here, if you dare," I called to the hellhound. It advanced on me, baring its fangs hungrily, like it couldn't wait to finish me off. I raced up to the demon dog, my dagger pointed at its heart. My face stung as rain water rolled off of my cut-up cheeks.

"ANNABETH!" My father's voice. I didn't have time to look back. I hoped Athena was watching over me now. She would give me a plan.

The hellhound charged. I sidestepped, but I slipped in the mud, and the hellhound still managed to bite a chunk of flesh off of my leg. The scream that escaped my mouth was more from frustration than pain, though. If you want to know something uncomfortable, it's the feeling of warm, stick blood dripping into your sock. Today was really sucking so far.

Hobbling away from the monster, I screamed at my dad to get everyone to the east side of house—away from the hellhound. Then I turned back to my opponent. "Come on, you stupid mutt," I called. "Show me what you got." Before it could get close enough, I threw my celestial bronze knife at it. Please, Mother, I prayed. Let that be enough to finish it off.

Athena heard me. As soon as the bronze made contact, the monster vaporized.

My leg was throbbing horribly. I collapsed in pain, holding my calf. My sock and pants leg were dark red. My stepmother was holding Matt and Bobby.

"Annabeth!" she screamed. She didn't look happy.

"Yes?" I called in annoyance. Blood was seeping through my fingers now.

"Are you okay?" she yelled at me.

"What are you, blind?" I shouted. "I'm hurt!" But I managed to stay on my feet long enough to limp my way inside. My step mom was going off about the monster while Matthew and Bobby tried, unsuccessfully, to explain what they saw. When she saw me, she scowled. "Is there any way this attack could've been avoided, Annabeth?"

"If I were at camp, this probably wouldn't have happened," I mumbled. I dug through my pocket and found an ambrosia square. My hands were shaking in time with the throbs pulsating from my leg wound. I put a small piece of ambrosia in my mouth. Immediately the gashes on my leg and face began to heal.

"Are you saying that you want to go back to camp?"

"Um...I don't remember _saying_ that," I said, looking up at my stepmother. I started to wrap my injured leg.

"Do not be fresh with me young lady." She used that "Mom" tone most mothers use when scolding their children.

"What?" I asked. "I wasn't being fresh."

"Your tone wasn't that cute just now, Annabeth," she replied.

"All I said was that I didn't say I wanted to go to camp!" I shouted.

"Lower your voice, please."

"Make me." I got up and stared her down. I know that sounded immature, but I was tired of her acting like she was my mother. She was nowhere close.

"Annabeth." She walked over to me, glaring. "Your mom may be the wisdom goddess, but that does _not_ give you the right to act smart with me. Go to you room."

"Do you even care that I just battled a giant dog that nearly tore my leg off?" I screamed, gesturing to my bandaged thigh.

"Of course I care," she said firmly.

"Then how about SHOWING it once in a while?" I stormed off to my room, grabbed a duffle bag from my closet, and sat staring at it from a while.

It was a rainy Thursday afternoon; therefore, I had school tomorrow. I packed my Goode High uniform, as well as my toothbrush, pajamas, and some extra clothes. After I was finished packing, I went downstairs.

"Where are you going, Annabeth?" Bobby asked.

"Yes, where _are_ you going, miss?" my step mom asked.

"Out," I replied.

"Out where?" Matthew asked.

"Over to a friend's house," I answered. "I'm sorry, but I just need to get away from here for a while. I'll be back, but..." I trailed off, shaking my head. "I don't know when."

"Sunday?" the twins asked together.

I stared at them for a few seconds. Finally, I said, "Sure. Sunday night."

I didn't wait for their answer. My father said, "Annabeth—"

But I was already out the door with an umbrella in my hand.

Waiting at the subway station, I pulled out my cell phone. This was dangerous, and I could possibly be attacked again. My common sense told me not to risk it. I searched for a pay phone, and finally found one easily. Digging through my pocket, I silently prayed that I had enough money to make a short call. I just needed twenty-five cents. I found two dimes and a few pennies. Five. Good. I dialed Percy's number. He picked up after the fourth ring.

"Hello…?" said a hoarse male voice.

"Hello, this is Annabeth," I replied.

"Hey…" the voice croaked.

"Um…is Percy there?" I asked.

"You're talking to him…" Percy replied with a yawn.

He sounded like he'd just woken up from a nap or something. "Were you sleeping?" I asked.

"No, I was baking a cake. What does it look like?"

"I can't _see_ you, Seaweed Brain."

"See? I'm slow when I'm tired."

"Only when you're tired?"

"Ha-ha," he said sarcastically. Then he laughed for real. "So what's up?"

I thought about how to reply to him. "Um…I was having issues with my family…"

"Uh-oh."

"Yeah. I was attacked by this hellhound, and—"

"Are you okay?" he asked.

"I'll live," I sighed, "but…can I stay over at your place? Just for the weekend? Until…things cool off…?"

"Why not go to camp?" he asked.

"Because I'm going to go back home after a few days. It's a yes-or-no question."

Silence on the other end of the phone. Finally, Percy said, "I'll have to ask. Be right back."

I waited for a while as Percy left to ask permission. The train had arrived, but I hesitated. There wouldn't really be any point in boarding if I couldn't stay at Percy's. I debated getting on the train for a few seconds, then jumped when Percy's voice came back.

"My mom and Paul said that you're perfectly welcome," he told me cheerfully.

I smiled and handed over my train ticket. "Thanks a lot, Percy."

I stood in front of the familiar Upper East Side apartment. Walking up to the door, I looked up and noticed silvery flowers in a window box where Percy's apartment was. Moonlace. I'd read about the mythical plant. My only question was: Where did Percy get Moonlace? I'd ask when I saw him.

I marched inside and told the doorman which apartment I was heading to. He nodded and smiled at me before notifying Percy's apartment.

When I knocked, Percy opened the door for me. "Hey—ouch, those are some nasty scratches on your face. And your leg…" he gasped. "What happened to your leg?"

"Shut up for a second and I'll explain everything," I said.

Percy was wearing a light blue sleeveless shirt, basketball shorts, and his camp necklace. What caught my attention, though, was the brown leather band tied around his right ankle. It was encrusted with small white seashells; the ones you'd find on any beach. A tiny, green trident hung like a charm. For some reason, it made him look like one of those stereotypical surfer dudes.

"What are you staring at, Wise Girl?" he asked. He was looking at me like I was out of my mind. I could feel my face burning. Trying to cover my embarrassment with one of my traditional Annabeth-type glares, I said, "I'm not staring at anything, Seaweed Brain."

Percy sighed and crossed his arms. "Whatever. Come inside, it's raining."


	2. The First Secret

**Enjoy!**

Percy's POV

I took Annabeth's duffle bag and backpack, and I led her inside.

My mom was downstairs getting the mail from our P.O. box, and my step dad, Paul, was still at Goode High School, where he worked, so for now, Annabeth and I were by ourselves.

Annabeth sat down on the couch, where I'd been napping just a few minutes earlier. My homework was scattered across the coffee table and my backpack was on the floor.

"Where's your mom?" she asked me.

"Downstairs getting the mail," I replied. "She's coming."

"And your step dad?"

"Meeting at school," I replied.

Annabeth nodded, then looked down at the carpet where I was standing.

When she held her gaze, I frowned. "You're doing it again," I said.

"Doing what again?"

"You were staring at my feet."

"No, I wasn't."

I raised an eyebrow.

Annabeth blushed. "Fine, I was just wondering where you got the band around your ankle. Happy?"

"Oh." I glanced down at the leather band tied around my ankle. "That was a Christmas present from Paul. We took him to Montauk and he put some shells on a leather band. I don't know where he got the trident charm from, but..." I shrugged. "I like it."

"Me too."

Just then, my mom came in. "Hey, you two," she said smiling. "How are you guys doing?"

"Great, Ms. Jackson," Annabeth replied with a smile.

"Annabeth, we've set up a place for you to sleep in Percy's room, okay?"

"Okay. Thanks so much."

"Don't mention it."

Annabeth got up slowly, putting very little weight on her injured leg. I picked up her duffle bag for her and brought it into my room.

Annabeth muttered, "Wow...it reminds me of your cabin."

I blinked. "How?"

"It's messy and ocean-themed," she replied with a shrug. She pointed toward my fish tank, where I had about a dozen different types of fish. "See? It's like a seaside gift shop in here."

I made a face at her as she bent over her duffle bag, searching through it for something. her hair spiraled down in front of her face and past her shoulders, and it caught the light from my window. I remembered last summer, how she'd kissed me with the entire camp watching. Just the memory of it made my face burn for a brief second.

When Annabeth turned back to me with an ambrosia square in her hand, she smirked. "What are you blushing about?" she asked.

I shook my head.

"You know, you've been doing that a lot lately. Staring at me."

"Well," I said. "Someone has a huge sense of their own importance." Then I sat next to her. "So...why'd you leave your house again?"

"My family was giving me drama, I told you that already."

"Like how? They blame you for the attack or something?"

Annabeth averted her gaze. She looked a little ashamed, though why she should would be, I wasn't so sure. Instead of answering my question, Annabeth said, "You're so lucky, Percy."

"How?"

"Your parents would never complain about an attack. You go on dangerous quests, you fight monsters, and you've even bathed in the River Styx." She looked me in the eyes. "Your mother's backed you up in every decision you've ever made. My father..." she trailed off.

"Your dad loves you. Remember that winter where he shot monsters from his Sopwith Camel? That was awesome."

"So he felt guilty and thought he could make it up by doing something once in a while. Big deal."

Annabeth looked down, and I got the feeling that if I pushed her into saying anything more, she'd put her mental shield up and shut me out completely.

Later that night, while Annabeth was taking her shower, I lay down on my unmade bed, thinking about what Annabeth had said. I doubted her father was really like that. I was sure he loved her and wanted her back home by now, but there was no way I was going to change Annabeth's mind. If she wanted to leave on Sunday, she was going to leave on Sunday, no sooner.

I stared into my fish tank, illuminated with blue light. I could hear the small voices of the fish in my mind: _Son of the Sea god! Son of the Sea god!_ I smiled a little; I couldn't help it. Maybe Annabeth was right. Maybe my room did look like a seaside gift shop.

I closed my eyes for a little while, and I must've dozed off, because the next thing I knew, Annabeth was shaking my shoulder.

"Hey, Percy," she said. "Your turn for the shower."

Her curly blond hair was wet, and she had a towel over her shoulders. She was in her pajamas, and it was then that I realized I'd never seen Annabeth in her pajamas before. They were light green with shorts and a matching shirt. I caught myself staring at her.

Annabeth caught me as well. "What are you staring at?" Annabeth asked me.

"Nothing," I replied. Then I gathered my stuff and left the room before she could say any more.

When I was done with my shower, I walked into my bedroom, drying my hair. Annabeth was sitting on her inflatable mattress braiding her hair. When she saw me enter, our eyes met. Annabeth held her gaze. "You want to know something?" she asked me.

I stopped in the middle of tousling my damp hair. I eyed her warily. "What?"

"It's not bad, Seaweed Brain," she laughed. "It's just something I've noticed about you. Personally, I think it's kind of cool."

"Tell me, then."

Annabeth shifted on the mattress. "Well...when you're in or around the water, your eyes kind of get this brightness. Literally. And...in a way...I like seeing you like that. I can tell you're calm when you're around the water." She shrugged. "It's something unique about you that I happen to enjoy."

Suddenly, I realized something about Annabeth. "Same with you," I said. "I can always tell when you're thinking about something, because your eyes get stormy. I guess that's something unique about _you_ that I enjoy."

"Well, thank you, Percy," she smirked.

Just then, my mother came in told us to go to sleep since we had school tomorrow. I flipped the switch off and the room was dark except for the bluish glow coming from the fish tank. I was just about to turn over and fall asleep, when Annabeth asked a question.

"Hey, Percy, I meant to ask you this earlier," she whispered. "Where'd you get the Moonlace over there?" She pointed toward the flower box on my fire escape.

I sighed and sat up, wondering where to start my answer.


	3. What's Unfair

**Percy may be in serious trouble...**

**Enjoy!**

Annabeth's POV

Laying down in the dark, I waited for Percy's answer. The flowers glowed silver in the night air. The room was completely silent except for the sound of water running through the filter in Percy's fish tank, the occasional car horn honking through traffic on Fifth Avenue, and if I held my breath, I could hear Percy slowly inhaling and exhaling. I figured he was already asleep, and I was about to turn over and follow his example, but he sat up and sighed heavily.

I sat up, too, waiting eagerly for his answer. But instead, he got up out of his bed and stood next to his fish tank. I figured he was hearing the thoughts of his fish or something. Then he opened the window to his fire escape and motioned for me to follow him. "Come on," he urged when I didn't get up right away.

I stepped out next to him on the fire escape. A light breeze blew across my face. I stared out at the City that Never Slept, with all of its lights and cars. I realized that I'd never really seen Manhattan at night before, and I thought the sight was astonishing. I slightly envied Percy for being able to experience this every single night. I turned to tell him, but I caught him eyeing the silver flowers in the box.

He turned to me, his expression illuminated by the flowers' glow. "Do you remember the Battle of the Labyrinth?" he asked me quietly.

I frowned. "Of course," I answered. I touched the bead on my camp necklace that corresponded to that summer. "Who doesn't remember it?"

"Well..." he started, "...that's the summer I got these." Percy gestured to the potted plants. "After the Mount St. Helens thing."

I hoped I wasn't blushing. "What happened?" I asked.

He sighed, rubbing his arms as a breeze picked up. "After the telkhines attacked me, I...I'm not sure exactly _what_ happened. I just remember shooting out of the volcano, and waking up on an island called Ogygia."

My heart leapt into my throat. I knew Ogygia. I'd read Homer's _Odyssey_. The hero Odysseus had become shipwrecked and was rescued by the goddess/nymph daughter of Atlas, Calypso. She was punished by the gods for supporting the Titan in the First War. She was lonely on her island, and when Odysseus landed there, she planned to keep him there. After seven years, Odysseus finally realized that he had been trying to return home to Ithaca and his wife, Penelope. Calypso tried to trick him by falsely promising him immortality on Ogygia, but Zeus forced her into letting the hero go. To think that Percy had stayed there...it sparked a small jealous fire that I thought had long-since been extinguished. I said nothing to Percy, and he took the opportunity to continue his story.

"Calypso took care of me there until I was strong enough to come back to camp."

"Strong enough to come back," I repeated absent-mindedly.

"Yeah," he said. "Whatever I did back there totally drained me of any energy I had. It was stay there or come back and get killed because I depleted all of my powers." He glanced at me sideways, like he was afraid of what my reaction would be.

My only question was, "How did you leave?"

He frowned and looked me in the eyes. "I told you that Hephaestus told me it was time to leave, didn't I?"

I rolled my eyes. "No one leaves Ogygia that easily, Percy," I told him. "Calypso's known for charming men into staying on her island, taking them away from their families and lovers..." I trailed off.

Even in the darkness of eleven at night, I could see Percy's face glow red. "She wasn't trying to trick me into anything," he protested.

I stared at him, unable to believe that he was being so defensive. "You wanted to stay with her, didn't you?" I asked him. "Let me guess: _She's _the one who gave you those." I pointed to the Moonlace.

"And so what if she did?" Percy snapped. "She just felt bad that there wasn't any gardening space in Manhattan, so she gave me the flowers to plant here in the city. But it was my decision to leave. I wasn't under her influence or anything. I left on my own."

"You said Hephaestus told you to leave," I countered.

Percy was about to answer, but I wasn't done making my argument.

"You would never have left the island if Hephaestus hadn't gotten you. You were ready to let the Titans destroy camp if it meant staying with her."

He fumed for a few seconds. "You know that's unfair, Annabeth."

Maybe it was, but he wasn't the one sick with worry for two weeks. "You want to know what's unfair, Percy?" I asked him. "Constantly wondering if you're even still alive, worrying that you hadn't made it out of the Labyrinth alive, burning a burial shroud for my best friend, thinking you were _dead_. _That's _unfair, Percy." I crossed my arms. "But how would you know? You were too busy enjoying Calypso's wonderful island."

Percy wouldn't look at me. He just stared out at Eighty-Second Street, looking like he wanted to punch something. Hard. "Whatever," he murmured. "Anyway, you seem to forget that I came back. I left the island because I knew that I had a quest to finish. It's not like I forgot about you."

I thought about last summer, when Percy had made his wish for the gods to excuse the friendly Titan-types. Calypso had been included in that wish. "She's still on your mind, though," I sighed. Then I turned around and climbed back in through the window.

Percy didn't follow me right away. But at that point I didn't really care. I wasn't really in the mood for his company anymore. I was sorry I'd asked my question, too.

When Percy finally came back inside, I was half-expecting and apology from him, but after waiting for a few seconds, i heard soft snoring and realized he was asleep.

I lay on my inflatable mattress, staring at Percy's digital clock. One hour passed, then two. I couldn't fall asleep, no matter how much i tossed and turned. I was so angry, and our conversation replaying in my head didn't make things better. I wondered if Percy really would've ditched us if Hephaestus hadn't found him and shown him the damage he'd caused, the lives he'd uprooted. I wondered if he'd just let the entire camp think he was dead. I thought back to those awful two weeks. Had he even thought about our feelings? Or was he just willing to toss us all to the side, let us hold our own against an army of Kronos's minions?

I wasn't sure how long I'd stayed awake, but i drifted off, finally.

_In my dream, I was at Camp Half-Blood. We were at the campfire. Everyone was somber. Chiron cantered over to me, handing me a green silk burial shroud embroidered with a trident. _

_ I was reliving Percy's funeral._

_ I remember taking the shroud in my hands, letting it sink in that my best friend (or even more than that) was actually gone. The reality crashed over me like a tsunami. I remember breaking down, clutching the green shroud close to me, unwilling to let him go. Silena led me to campfire, comforting me as we walked. Or at least attempting to. I hadn't really heard what she was saying. My thoughts were clouded. _

_ I remember placing the shroud on the flames. I faced the crowd. Chiron had asked me to say a few words in remembrance of Percy, and i started to._

_ Then I saw him. He was standing at the back of the amphitheatre, trying not to be noticed._

_ I ran to him, pushing all of the other campers aside. They stared at me as if I was losing my mind, but I didn't care. He was back, and that was all that mattered at the moment. _

_ But when I tried to hug him, it was like hugging air. My arms passed right through him like he wasn't even there. _

_ His form disappeared into mist._

_ He wasn't coming back. He chose to stay with Calypso..._

I tried to force myself out of the nightmare. But my eyes wouldn't open. I felt completely trapped. Wake up, I told myself. It's a dream. Wake up!

That's when a distance yell snapped me out of my sleep. Percy's voice: "No!"

I sat upright, my heart pounding.


	4. Jealousy, Dreams, and Another Secret

**Author's Note: Hey! It's been awhile since I updated this story…The thing is, I don't think this was my best work, if you ask me. But you have been begging for more, and I seriously appreciate the love. Thanks for all the reviews!**

**And now for the all-important disclaimer: I am not Rick Riordan, **_**ergo**_** I do not own Percy Jackson.**

* * *

><p>Percy's POV<p>

I'd like to say that I apologized to Annabeth as soon as I came back inside. The truth is, I really wasn't in the mood for apologizing. In fact, I should've been the one _receiving_ the apology. It wasn't fair that Annabeth was getting jealous over something that had happened years ago. If I had returned from Calypso's island sooner than I had, I wouldn't have been much good in a fight. I probably would've been killed the first chance Luke or Kronos got.

But still…and I would never admit this out loud to Annabeth, especially considering her reaction to my answer…Calypso was still my biggest "what-if". What if I _had _stayed with her? Could I have seriously been immortal on her island, without anything to worry about? No pain. No suffering. No prophecies. No enemies. No Kronos. No Luke…

And Luke…how could Annabeth possibly accuse me of falling in love with Calypso when she clearly couldn't make up her own mind about who _she _liked: Luke or me? As I lay in my bed, I could feel jealousy burning inside my chest—a jealousy I hadn't felt in so long. Then I felt guilty for feeling jealous. Luke was dead, and all I could think of was how Annabeth felt about him?

My mind was buzzing with thoughts. I thought there would be no way for me to fall asleep, but with the curse of Achilles weighing me down, my ADHD mind and body could only take so much at a time, and I closed my eyes.

* * *

><p><em>I was back on Olympus. The place was trashed. Injured warriors lay in the streets. Grover, Annabeth and I ran to the throne room of the gods, where Kronos was waiting for us. <em>

_ In Luke's body. The Titan's gold eyes glittered hungrily at me, as if he couldn't wait to finish me off. I struck at him, but he disarmed me._

_Annabeth yelled, "STOP!" and used her knife to block the Titan's strike to her face._

_I watched as Annabeth battled him, demigod versus Titan. I could see her energy flagging. She was hurt badly. She begged him to remember his promise to her—that they would be a family. "Family, Luke...you promised..." Her voice echoed in my mind over and over again._

_Kronos raised his hand, and a wave of force knocked her backward, painfully slamming into her mother's throne. Barely breathing, she whispered to me, "Percy…cursed blade…"_

_All I could think of was that I wasn't going to let Kronos near her. She'd dropped her blade on the floor next to her, and I grabbed it, feeling its leather-bound grip, watching the celestial bronze glint wickedly. I raised my hand to strike at the Titan's evil face…_

_Luke's face._

_The gold irises turned blue again, and Luke doubled over, gasping in pain. "Please, Percy," he begged me. "Give me the knife."_

_Annabeth's voice now: "The prophecy, Percy," she whispered._

_My head was spinning. No…the choice. I knew what I had to do. _Just hand over the blade, Percy,_ I tried to tell my dream-self. But somehow, I felt my grip tighten around the dagger._

"_Hurry…no time…" Luke gasped. "He'll destroy us all if you don't give me the blade!"_

_My arm stayed up, the dagger still raised above my head. My hands began to shake._

_Luke's body began to glow, brighter and brighter. "Now, Percy! Please!"_

_Anger filled me from top to bottom. This was the guy who had betrayed Annabeth too many times before. How am I supposed to trust him now? What if I gave him the dagger and he turned on us? The Titan could just take him over and kill us. I wasn't going to trust him. This was my choice. _

No_, I tried to tell myself again. _Give him the knife_. _If you don't, Kronos will show his true form and destroy Western Civilization.

_But for some reason, I couldn't let go of the blade. A small part of my mind kept nagging at me, reminding me that this was the guy who had tried to kill us too many times before to trust him now. I found myself thrusting downward, toward his neck._

"_NO!" I heard Annabeth scream. Instantly my dream-self seemed to understand that he—I—had just doomed us all._

_Luke's eyes turned gold again. Kronos laughed evilly. "Just the choice I've been waiting for you to make, you foolish demigod!"_

_My heart pounded with disbelief and frustration. I can't believe this, I thought. All of this stress about a choice that will end the hero's days, and I make the _wrong_ choice?_

_And now we were all going to die because of it._

_Grover and Annabeth screamed as gold light filled the room. Luke's body burned away as the Titan's light grew. "Welcome to the new Golden Age, Jackson!" Kronos roared. "Too bad you won't be around to witness the death and destruction you've unleashed!" _

_His evil laughter filled the room as quickly as the gold light. I felt my body burning._

_No. _

No.

* * *

><p>"NO!" I screamed, bolting upright in my bed.<p>

The room was dark. I squinted into the blue light coming from the fish tank. I couldn't hear anything apart from my won heavy breathing. Cold beads of sweat rolled down my neck.

"What is it?" Annabeth called from her mattress. I glanced down and saw she was also awake, sitting upright like I was.

At first, I couldn't answer her. A lot of things hit me at once: first, the fact that it had just been a nightmare had given me such a relief that I wanted to cry; second, I realized that I had just dreamed about another outcome of the Great Prophecy from last summer. I still remembered the lines: _ A half-blood of the eldest gods shall reach sixteen against all odds. _The half-blood was me, the demigod son of Poseidon, one of the Big Three. And my sixteenth birthday had been last summer.

_And see the world in endless sleep._ Morpheus, the god of dreams, had put all of Manhattan to sleep with a spell, so that's how that line came true.

_The hero's soul, cursed blade shall reap. _ The hero was Luke, and he'd taken his own life with Annabeth's blade, which had been his own before they had met all those years ago. The blade was cursed with Luke's broken promise of a family for Annabeth.

_A single choice shall end his days, Olympus to preserve or raze._ That's where my dream had freaked me out. In it, I'd made the wrong choice…I'd destroyed Olympus.

"Percy?" Annabeth called again. "What's wrong?"

Her voice brought me out of my stupor. I blinked, trying to focus on her in the dark. Taking a deep breath, I said shakily, "Nothing. Just a bad dream."

I heard Annabeth stand up. "Are you sure?" she asked cautiously. "I mean, your dreams are hardly ever just dreams, Percy."

I rolled my eyes, suddenly feeling the urge to fall asleep again. "Well, this was just a nightmare, Annabeth. I swear." I'd been having nightmares like that ever since the end of the Titan War. Trust me, I'd woken up screaming in the middle of every night since I'd gotten home from camp. I'd always dreamed of Kronos standing over Annabeth and me with his scythe, slicing down, exploding into his golden divine form. Dreams like that would bother me for about five minutes, seeming so real to me, until I realized they were just dreams, that Annabeth and I were safe, that Kronos was gone. But after the argument Annabeth and I had just had, the dream made me feel guiltily jealous all over again. And I couldn't tell Annabeth about it. I would probably just dig up her old feelings for Luke, and then _another_ argument would most likely ensue.

She sighed. "Fine." She sat back down on her bed.

I frowned. "You don't believe me," I observed.

It took her a while to answer. "I believe that your dream was just a dream…" she trailed off. "…but I don't believe it was nothing. Tell me what it was about."

I thought about the images of Luke torturing Annabeth, hurting her. I couldn't stand it. And if I told Annabeth that I dreamed about not trusting Luke, _and _that my lack of trust had resulted in the end of the world...I had no clue what her reaction would be, but I did know that it wouldn't be anything good. The last thing I wanted was _another _fight about past relationships. I scowled unintentionally into the darkness.

"What are you trying to hide from me, Percy?" Annabeth asked, suspicion in her voice.

I shook my head. "It's nothing, Annabeth," I replied. Before she could ask me another question, I turned over and tried again to fall asleep, but I couldn't. I was afraid of what else I might dream. Eventually, though, I fell into a blissfully dreamless sleep.

Until waking up, when I remembered the night before, dreading more of Annabeth's questions about my dream.

**There will be more, and I will update faster! It's just that I also working on **_**Cold as Ice**_** and I just have to keep the storylines separate, think of things to do.** **I also have to remember what the plot was and try to go from there. I know some of you are like "Then why not just write one at a time?" Well…when I get a good idea, I have to write it down. That's why I have two stories at once. And you guys love both and so do I. So I'm going to get both done. I promise.**

**Reviews are much appreciated! Thanks so much!**

**~Mandi2341**


	5. Drama, Drama, and More Drama

**Author's note: Yay, another chapter! Tell me what you think; I know you guys love this story! You guys are awesome! Thanks so much for reading!**

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><p>Annabeth's POV<p>

I woke up that next morning feeling disoriented. I saw the sunlight streaming in through a different angle than what I was used to. I wasn't exactly sure where I was. I looked up at the ceiling, and then around the room. It was unfamiliar. Finally, I saw Percy fast asleep on his bed. That's when everything came crashing back to me.

All of my anger seemed to come back to in waves as I remembered the conversations last night: the moonlace, Calypso, my dream, _his_ dream…then I remembered—he was keeping something about his dream from me. For a few seconds, I glared at him, considering how roughly to wake him up, when I heard a knock on the door, and Ms. Jackson's voice called, "Percy! Annabeth! Time to get up! You have school!"

I sighed angrily and stood. I picked up my pillow, walked around to side of Percy's bed, and saw him lying on his side, sleeping peacefully. Then, I used my pillow to give him a good smack across the face.

"Ow!" he cried out. He tried to focus on me, but his green eyes were dull with sleep. "What was that for?"

"Time to get up," I muttered. Without waiting for his answer, I pulled my uniform from my bag and went to the bathroom to change.

As I stood in front of the mirror, I studied my face. I'd undone my braid so that my hair fell in wavy curls all around my face. My eyes were dark gray, like storm clouds. I smiled; Percy had said that was his indication that I was thinking hard about something. It was kind of interesting how he would think about and notice tiny details like that. But then I remembered—he was hiding something from me, and that reminder made me angry all over again.

As soon as I was done, I headed back to Percy's room to get my backpack. When I opened the door, however, I found Percy at his fish tank, holding his uniform shirt…but not wearing it. I froze, realizing that I'd never seen Percy shirtless before that very moment. I must admit, he was well-built: lithe and muscular, with a nice tan—totally opposite the boy I found sitting on the porch steps of the Big House, soaking wet and dazed, crying for his mother. I made a sort of strangled, involuntary "Uhm…" sound.

He turned his head toward me without saying anything.

I raised an eyebrow, feeling my cheeks burn for a bit. "You going to school without a shirt today?" I asked, meaning for it to sound teasing, but my voice sounded weak.

He made a face at me. "Ha-ha, funny," he said sarcastically, but he was a bit pinker in the cheeks as well. He slipped his arms through the sleeves and started buttoning it down. I couldn't help but stare at him.

I started to think about last summer, and our underwater kiss. I'd thought we'd finally made it to the point where we weren't just friends. The thing is, I wasn't sure if we were officially a couple yet, either. I mean, we barely saw each other at school, since we didn't have many classes together. When we did speak to each other, it felt totally awkward _because _of that in-between stage we were in. And this secret thing wasn't helping at all.

Speaking of secrets… "Are you ready to tell me about your dream yet," I asked, "or are you just going to keep it to yourself?"

He frowned, but I could see he turned little paler. He kept his mouth shut. Instead he threw his tie over his shoulders and went to the bathroom.

All I could do was stare at the space where he'd been standing two seconds before. I couldn't believe that Percy had totally ignored me. It had left me a little stunned. And he'd looked a little scared when I'd asked. I wondered what his dream had been about. It kind of hurt my feelings, because he'd _always_ shared his dreams with me. Why wouldn't he share this one, unless it was about something he didn't want me to know about?

My eyes widened when the realization hit me with the force of a truck. Percy didn't want me to know about his dream. He claimed it was no big deal, but all the more reason to share it with me, right? What do you have to lose if it's no big deal? Obviously it was a bigger deal than he was letting on. What could he possibly have to hide from me, though? He'd woken up screaming last night, yanking me from my dream about him staying on Calypso's island…

_Calypso._

What if…that's what his dream had been about? Which would make sense as to why he'd be hiding it. The screaming...perhaps something had happened to her, something bad. Maybe he _did_ still have feelings for her. I felt my heartbeat quicken with jealousy.

Percy came back into the room right then, but I pushed past him, giving him an extra bump on the shoulder, which unfortunately hurt me more than it hurt him.

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><p>I sat down to a breakfast of blue eggs and waffles, courtesy of Percy's mom. They were delicious, but I found myself doing little more than picking at them. Percy took a seat across from me, but his gaze drifted to the window and stayed there. Percy's stepdad, being a teacher and all, went in to school early. The kitchen was really quiet, except for the sound of running water as Percy's mom washed the dishes.<p>

Finally she broke the ice. "You guys sleep okay?"

Percy and I glanced at each other. Well, more like, glared at each other for a brief second. But neither of us said anything.

Ms. Jackson pursed her lips. "I see," she said. "You guys aren't arguing, are you?"

Percy shook his head but still wouldn't open his mouth. I just sighed, avoiding his eyes.

"Okay, then," Ms. Jackson replied.

We finished eating in silence, then walked to school in silence, and then went to homeroom—in silence.

The next time I saw Percy was at lunch. I tapped him on the shoulder in the lunch line, and he turned to face me. When he saw that it was me, though, he didn't look super thrilled. "Oh," he said. "Hey."

"Can we talk?" I asked. I was getting tired of the silent treatment. And besides, I wanted to confront him about his dream.

"We are talking," he said.

I scowled. "Not cute, Seaweed Brain."

"Wasn't trying to be."

I rolled my eyes and pulled on his arm. "Just come sit with me and we'll talk, okay?"

He looked at me cautiously, like he was trying to figure out what I wanted to talk about. Either that or he already knew and was thinking of ways to avoid the conversation, which I wouldn't allow at all. But finally he took a deep breath and said, "Fine."

We sat across from each other at the lunch table, initially avoiding each other's gaze as we'd done at breakfast that morning. After about thirty seconds of looking at everything but each other's faces, Percy said, "Well, what did you want to talk about?"

"You know exactly what I want to talk about, Percy."

"Really? What's that?"

I glared at him. "What did you really dream about?" When he opened his mouth to answer, I added, "And don't say 'nothing' because no one wakes up screaming in the middle of the night because they dreamed of 'nothing'."

He didn't answer. Instead he picked a mozzarella stick and half-heartedly took a bite from it.

I was getting impatient. "Look, Percy," I said, raising my voice a little. "I'm getting really tired of the cold shoulder from you. I know what you dreamed about."

His eyes snapped up to meet mine. He frowned incredulously. "You do?"

"Yes," I told him. "You dreamed about Calypso, didn't you?"

To my surprise, Percy let out a laugh of shock. If he looked incredulous before, he was in complete disbelief now. "_What?_"

"What do you mean, 'what'?" I asked, feeling really foolish. "You mean you didn't—"

"No, of course not!" he answered. "Why would you think that I—" He gasped. "You are _so_ jealous!" But there was no humor in his expression. In fact, he looked annoyed, if anything.

Fighting back the warmth arriving in my face, I retorted, "Then what _did_ you dream about, hmm?"

"You really want to know? Are you sure you can handle it?" His voice didn't sound sarcastic, which was weird.

"Why would I not be able to handle it?" I asked, narrowing my eyes.

"I don't know; you tell me."

"Stop messing around, Seaweed Brain," I said, pushing his shoulder, which again had no effect.

He narrowed his eyes as well. "Fine. Since you insist, I'll tell you." He paused took a deep breath, and lowered his voice. "It was about Luke, alright?"

For about three seconds, I felt Percy had hit me in the gut. We'd lost Luke last summer, during the second Titan War. He'd sacrificed himself to destroy Kronos, who'd taken over his body. His death had crushed me on the inside; I'd known Luke since I was seven years old, when he and Thalia had taken care of me after I'd run away from home. I found myself choked up, fingering my latest camp bead—the Empire State building surrounded by names of the fallen. "Oh," was all I could manage.

Percy's expression was pained. "In my dream, I couldn't bring myself to trust him enough to hand him your knife. I…wouldn't give it to him. Kronos, he…he showed his divine form and destroyed everything. The prophecy came true…" his voice shook with every word. "…but in the worst way possible."

I was shaking, too. My chest hurt, because it felt like I couldn't get enough air. "You didn't trust him," I said.

"Annabeth—"

"You didn't _trust_ him?" My voice was louder now. "He was willing to give his life to save the world, and you didn't _trust_ him?"

"Annabeth!" Percy's eyes were like two hurricanes, swirling with rage. "I didn't trust him, at first. He'd hurt you too many times. He'd hurt _me_ too many times. I don't sit well with traitors, Annabeth."

"He redeemed himself, though!" I argued. I could feel my eyes starting to sting.

He stood up angrily. "You see why I didn't want to tell you?" he asked. "I knew this would be your reaction, and I wanted to avoid it. It's not even that big of a deal, since I _did_ trust him. It was a _dream_, Annabeth!"

"Then why would you have a dream like that?" I asked. "I know he hurt me, Percy, more times than you can count. But when I heard his voice pleading for you to give him the knife and end Kronos once and for all, I _had _to trust him! I knew there was still good in him—that was something you refused to see for yourself, until the very last second."

"Why do you have to overreact to everything?" he said. "Calypso, Luke—I can't tell you anything, because you completely blow it out of proportion."

I was so offended I couldn't even speak. I took four deep breaths to keep myself from slapping him across the face. "I came to your place to _escape_ drama, Percy, not look for more."

With that, I left the cafeteria, still having eaten nothing.

I refused to look Percy in the face for the rest of the school day. I wouldn't look at him on the walk home either. When we got back to the apartment, I flopped back on the mattress set up for me and buried my face in my pillow. Percy did the exact same thing.

We stayed that way for Zeus knows how long, until Percy's mom came in and told us, "How about we get out of the house tomorrow? I'm thinking Coney Island over in Brooklyn."

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><p><strong>I am going to hold off of this story and <strong>_**Cold as Ice**_**. Before any of you panic, it's only going to be until August 18****th****. As you all know, that is Percy's birthday! So I am challenging myself to a series of Birthday One-Shots. And even better, they will be in Sally's POV, for those of you who liked the Thunderstorm story. There will be like, four. His 13****th****, 14****th****, 15****th****, and 16****th**** birthdays, fifteen being my personal favorite for obvious reasons.**

**Anyway, Review please! Thank you!**


	6. Can We Make Up Yet?

**Author's Note: Okay, I'm sorry this took so long to write. I was definitely stuck on this one. **

Percy's POV

When my mom offered to take us to Coney Island, I was definitely willing to go, I mean, a Saturday at an amusement park by the beach? Who would refuse that?

The thing was I knew what my mom was up to. She wasn't stupid; she could see that Annabeth and I were fighting. She was trying to loosen up the tension. But I was kind of reluctant to loosening up. It was completely unfair, the way Annabeth was treating me. I couldn't tell her _anything_ without her flipping out. And she was accusing _me_ of causing her more drama! She asked me; I didn't volunteer the information—for that exact reason!

Even so, as annoyed as I was with Annabeth, I was kind of hoping that she'd say _something_ to me. It kind of hurt not being able to talk to her. I'd been itching to get out of this awkward in-between phase with her—we weren't just friends anymore, but not exactly boyfriend/girlfriend either. And yes, I definitely wanted to ask her out, but…I still felt awkward around her. For example, that morning when she'd caught me with my shirt off? Yeah. Embarrassing. I started to think about our underwater kiss last summer, and I thought maybe there'd been something there. And I was beginning to think there _definitely_ still was, especially if Annabeth was getting jealous over something as small as a flower.

I still couldn't believe Annabeth had thought my dream had been about Calypso. I mean, yes, I thought about her from time to time, I'm not going to lie, but I had _never_ dreamed about her, let alone something bad. I might as well have, though, considering her reaction when I told her about Luke. I knew I was opening a whole Pandora's Box of trouble, telling her that. She'd always had feelings for him, even though she wouldn't admit it. I felt guilty about being jealous of him; he was dead now. He'd sacrificed himself to save the world from Kronos. Then again, he wouldn't have needed to do that if he hadn't given himself over to Kronos in the first place.

I lay on my bed at midnight, staring at the ceiling, thinking all of these things while Annabeth slept. Suddenly, something Annabeth had said to me once rang in my head over and over again: _You _want _him to be evil, is that it? You didn't know him before, Percy. I did! _I let out an angry sigh turned over, covering my head with my pillow. I wanted to hit something, but I gripped the edges of my pillow until the anger faded into sleep.

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><p>The next morning was another silent morning between Annabeth and me. We ate breakfast without a word to each other. When we got back to my room, went out to the fire escape and stared at the busy street below me. I thought about breaking the silence with an apology, but I more I thought about apologizing, the more I thought I should have been on the receiving end of that apology. I stared out at the sky, sulking. I lost track of how long I spent out there, until Annabeth knocked on the window and beckoned for me to come back inside; we were getting ready to go. Reluctantly I dragged myself from the fire escape and went back inside.<p>

The car ride into Brooklyn was just as painfully silent as the rest of the day had been. My mom and Paul broke the silence by talking to each other about their writing seminar, but I paid them no attention. I just stare out the window watching the skyline of Manhattan zoom by me as we crossed the Brooklyn Bridge. Annabeth did the same, though she was careful not to look in my direction for even a second.

I must've fallen asleep in the car or something, because the next thing I knew, we were at Manhattan Beach. It still confused me why it was called Manhattan Beach when it was in Brooklyn, but go figure. Annabeth and I helped my mom and Paul unload our things from the car, and we set up everything in a nice, sunny spot before going over to the ocean. There weren't that many people, since it was only May, but it was pretty warm out, so I pulled my shirt off and ran toward the ocean for a swim.

As soon as my body made contact with the water, I shivered. It was freezing cold, but it felt so good, I didn't care. I willed myself to get wet, since we were in a public place, and I dove under the waves as they crashed down on me. I found myself swimming farther and farther out into deeper waters, until I was practically treading water. I didn't like this beach as much as Montauk, but it was alright. I found a bunch of cool-looking seashells to put on the band around my ankle—shells you'd never find laying around on the surf. The ones I found were still intact, shiny and pearly white. Just some more perks of being the son of the sea god, I suppose.

I made my way back to the beach and was heading over to wear my parents were sitting, when a couple of girls walked my way. They looked about my age, clad in bikinis. And I have to admit, they were pretty cute. One with brown curly hair and dark eyes smiled at me. "Hey," she said. "I saw you swimming out there. You're _really_ good, you know."

"Um, thanks," I told her. I started to keep walking, but another one with blond hair blocked my path. "Can you teach me to swim like that?" she asked, giving me a shy but cute smile. Then she noticed the seashells in my hand. "Whoa, where'd you find those?" she asked, as if she were completely amazed.

"Oh," I said, glancing down at them. "You can find them farther out, where it's deeper."

"They're beautiful," she said, though she wasn't looking at the seashells anymore. She was looking me up and down. The other one was doing the same thing, giggling. "Are they for someone?" she asked.

I shook my head warily. "No," I told them. "I put them on this, you see." I pointed down at the leather band around my ankle. "Just, you know, little charms," I said with a shrug.

"Oooh, I like the trident on it," the dark-haired girl said. "Where'd you get it?"

"Uh," I started, then shrugged again. "The craft store, or something."

They both giggled again, then the dark-haired girl took my hand. "I'm Marcy," she said. "This is Amy." The blonde waved.

"I'm Percy," I replied.

"You wanna come hang out with us, Percy?" the blond girl, Amy, asked. "Maybe…you could teach us how to find those pretty seashells." She batted her eyelashes at me, and I felt myself blush a little. Somehow, I was beginning to think that she wanted more than a swimming lesson.

Before I could answer, I felt someone's hand on my shoulder. "You coming back anytime soon, Percy? Or are you having more fun with _these_ girls, here?"

I turned and found Annabeth with her eyebrows raised. She had a smile on her face that looked innocent enough, but I knew I was about to hear an earful from her. "Oh, hey, Annabeth," I said. "I was just—"

"Oh," Marcy pouted. "Is she your girlfriend?"

"No," I answered quickly.

Annabeth seemed flash an angry glance at me, when I said that, but she tried to look friendly for the two girls. "Hi, girls," she said. "I'm going to have to borrow Percy. It might take a while, so you might not want to wait for us." With that she grabbed my arm painfully hard and steered me away from them.

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><p>I rolled my eyes. "Yes?" I said when were out of earshot.<p>

Annabeth threw her arms up in exasperation. "What, you're flirting other girls now?" she asked angrily.

I frowned. "Flirting?"

"Yes, flirting!" she exclaimed. "And you weren't doing anything about it? Just going to hang out with them instead of m—us?"

I narrowed my eyes. My suspicion was definitely on the rise now. "Instead of who?" I asked.

She looked down at her feet, like there was something interesting on the ground. "Instead of us," she grumbled.

"What were you really about to say, Annabeth?"

"What?"

I looked her in the eyes, or at least tried to, since she wouldn't look up at me. Then it hit me. "You're jealous," I realized.

She scoffed. "Don't be stupid."

"I'm not the one being stupid here," I countered.

"Oh, yeah?" she snapped. "Then how'd you not know those girls were flirting with you?" she asked.

I made a face. "Why would a girl flirt with me?" I asked her.

It was a totally serious question, but Annabeth found it hilarious. She started to laugh, shaking her head. "Oh, man," she muttered between laughs.

I was starting to get really annoyed now. "What the heck is so funny, Annabeth?" I asked.

"You can't be _that_ slow, Seaweed Brain," she said. "You really don't know why girls flirt with you? Why those girls, or Calypso, or Rachel, or I would want to flirt with you?"

I was about to answer her, but I caught myself. "Wait…you…" My voice trailed off. I tried to form a question properly, but I couldn't. So I finally decided on, "What?"

Annabeth frowned, then seemed to realize that she'd slipped up. Her face turned pink. "Well, yeah," she sighed. "Why do you think _any_ girl would flirt with you, Percy?" She was finally looking me in the eyes. Her irises were light silver.

Thinking about her question, I honestly couldn't find an answer. When I was younger, no girl would ever be caught dead _near _me, let alone _flirting_ with me. But lately…well, that was obviously not the case anymore.

Annabeth sighed, as if trying to gather the courage to form more words. "Let's face it, Percy," she murmured. "You're funny, sweet, smart when you _want_ to be, and…you're cute." She sighed. "You're like, the perfect boyfriend. Why do you think so many girls want you to be theirs?"

I just stared at her. I couldn't think of what to say. I mean, Annabeth had called me cute to my face before, but she'd been all drowsy and off, I didn't think she really meant it, although…she kissed me…so there had to have been something there. "You really think that about me? Seriously?"

She rolled her eyes. "Of course I really think that, Seaweed Brain. Why do you think—" she cut herself off abruptly, then lowered her voice. "Why do you think I…you know, kissed you? Why would I have done that if I didn't like you? Like, more than a friend? You mean to tell me you didn't realize that?" She looked hurt. "Well, then, there was no point, was there?" She turned to leave and was halfway gone before I ran to catch up with her.

"Wait. Then why did you kiss me?" I asked. "The first time, in the Labyrinth. Did you…you know, _like_ me, back then?"

Annabeth looked really conflicted. She hesitated before answering. "I don't kiss people I don't like, Percy," she said finally.

I raised an eyebrow so she knew I was looking for a straight answer.

She continued, "I mean, I did like you, Percy. But I wasn't sure if…well, if I like you more than…" Her voice faded and she glanced nervously at me.

I took a not-so-wild guess. "Luke." For some reason, I could feel my jealousy coming back. I shook my head. "For some reason, I knew he would've had _something_ to do with it.  
>He always does."<p>

"Percy," Annabeth said, her eyes darkening, "Luke was my _best_ _friend_ since I was seven years old. And he _killed himself_ to save the whole world. But you just can't see anything but the bad things he's done. And you want to know why? Because you're jealous of him. You just can't stand the idea of me liking anyone except you. Admit it."

"What?" I was furious. "I can't believe that you're turning this back on me! I thought that we were making up, like two seconds ago, but of course not. And besides, you can't stand the thought of me with anyone else but you."

"You're the one who was getting all upset over me mentioning Luke," she shot back.

I wanted to say something back, but she had gotten me. I was jealous of Luke. But I just couldn't tell her that without feeling bad, opening up that box of hurt. I looked away, sighing. "How did we get back here?" I asked myself.

Annabeth shrugged. "Great question," she muttered.

The two of us walked back over to my mom and Paul and headed over to the theme park.

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><p><strong>Okay…so this wasn't the best chapter. But I am officially almost done with this story. Maybe two or three more chapters…? Yay! This will be my first completed story with an actual plot line! <strong>

**Like it? Love it? Hate it? Despise it? Tell me!**

**~Mandi2341**


	7. Fun at Coney Island

**Author's Note: So there's probably an angry mob carrying pitchforks and torches for me. I'm sorry this took forever, but it's a long story. Writer's block + Lent = no fanfiction. But it's Easter! Yes, it's still Easter. It's 50 days long. So Happy Easter, and I'm sorry this took FOREVER.**

**And one more thing: Thank you PixieKindOfCrazy for beta-ing for me. It helped a LOT.**

**Unless you're Rick Riordan, NO ONE HERE OWNS PERCY JACKSON.**

**Please Enjoy!**

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><p>Annabeth's POV<p>

After the argument with Percy, I wasn't really angry. I was more…disappointed, I guess. I just felt exhausted and weary as we walked up to the amusement park. Percy's words rang in my ears: _How did we get back here?_ I shook my head, trying to think of an answer to that question. Maybe because the sight of him with other girls made me angry and jealous—not of anything but the fact that he _had_ been mine, but somehow I'd lost hold of him, and he was slipping away from me. I glanced down, noticing how close our hands were to touching, but no matter how close they were, there was still this gap between us. It frustrated me.

Percy avoided my eyes the entire time we walked. I did the same, not sure how to say anything, not having the guts to say anything. That's how it was between the two of us; that was our relationship. After an argument, we just needed time to cool down so we didn't strangle each other. But this weekend was totally backfiring on me. I'd come here to spend time with him, to see if there was really any way we could move our relationship away from the awkward in-between stage. It felt like we were both just dancing on the edge of something; slip one way: we never get to be anything  
>but this, slip another way: we get to be where I want us to be. And I was pretty annoyed at Percy for hating Luke so much. I never had real, romantic feelings for him. He really was like my brother. Percy just wouldn't understand it. Or he did understand it, but he wouldn't let himself see past the jealousy, the bias.<p>

Anyway, it was totally different from his relationship with Calypso, or Rachel, or anyone else. I glanced at him, and then glanced away. Why couldn't I just let everything out, the way I almost had back there? It had just begun to slip out, back at the beach. The idea of purposely telling him all of my feelings brought nervous butterflies to my stomach.

My mind was everywhere when I felt Percy tentatively reach for my hand. When I looked up at him, his green eyes were no longer stormy, the way they were when he was angry. They were back to their usual, bright green, but they were pleading. He sighed. "Look," he said. "You're not happy, and I'm not happy, right?"

I rolled my eyes, but I was relieved that he had broken the silence. "Yeah, Percy," I said. "Obviously neither of us is happy right now."

His eyes flashed with some annoyance but he continued anyway. "We've been arguing all weekend. But…can it stop as soon as we get inside the park? Please?"

He held out his pinky, and he was looking at me very shyly. I felt eight years old again, but I considered how close we had been to making up, and I curled my own pinky around his. A warm feeling spread through me; this was like old times. I couldn't help but smile a little. Percy did, too. "No more drama?" he asked.

"Not for now, anyway, Seaweed Brain," I smirked. Percy relaxed a little, apparently relieved that I was back to calling him by his playfully affectionate nickname. "Now, come on. We came here to have a good time, and that's what we're going to do, okay?"

* * *

><p>When we got into the amusement park, I immediately felt much better. I was actually pretty excited. Percy pointed to the roller coaster and grinned. "Want to go there first?" he asked.<p>

Ah, the Cyclone. One of the oldest roller coasters in the country, a national landmark. I looked back at Percy, who knew how much of a landmark nerd I was, and was suppressing a smile. "Well?" he asked.

"Let's save the best for last," I offered. "Anything else cool here?"

We walked around the place, looking for something to ride. I was glad the lines weren't ridiculously long, like I imagine they would be in the summer. Then I spotted on of my favorites—the scrambler. I pointed, grabbing Percy's arm. "Come on," I said. "This is my favorite."

He chuckled and let me pull him along. Did I mention how much better it felt to be getting along with him again?

We waited in the line for a while and watched the ride go. The scrambler, for those of you who haven't been to Coney Island, is this ride that swings around and around in a "scrambling" fashion. You swing in one direction until you're almost at the walls, then slingshot in another direction. It goes on until the ride is over, after about three minutes.

When it was our turn, we picked a ride. Percy motioned for me to get in first, but I raised an eyebrow. "Um, I don't think so, Seaweed Brain."

"Why not?" he asked.

"Because you're bigger than I am." Those words felt weird coming out of my mouth. Until this year, Percy had never been bigger than I was. But that's the thing with the ride. It swings in a manner that causes you to lean to one side the entire time. Whoever was on the inside was at a disadvantage because the lean was always to the inside. There was even a warning on the seat, which I pointed out to Percy. "You get in first, because I'll get squished. They'll make us switch anyway."

He pouted, but got in, and I followed him.

The ride started slowly, gently swinging us around. Then it picked up speed, faster and faster until we were leaning to the right and poor Percy was being squashed against the wall. He was laughing and playfully trying to push me off of him, but I was always thrown back onto his shoulder.

Finally the ride slowed to a stop. Percy got off rolling his shoulder. "Ah, gods, Annabeth," he chuckled. "Not happening twice in a row."

I laughed. "Alright, then. What should we do next?"

Percy recommended the Pirate Ship. It's basically a pirate ship on a pendulum, and it would go up so high that it gave you the same falling feeling you get from a roller coaster. After that, we did the Himalayas, which is kind of like a mini roller coaster, but a lot tamer. It even had strobe lights and a DJ with awesome music. Everyone was singing along and cheering throughout the entire thing.

Finally we passed by the Air Race, this airplane ride that began by spinning horizontally, then flipping vertically. I turned to Percy. "Dare you to come on that with me," I smirked.

Okay, so maybe that was a little mean. I knew he had a pretty bad fear of airplanes, due to the whole sibling rivalry between his father Poseidon, and Zeus.

Percy turned a bit pale. "Um, I don't…"

"Never mind," I said. "I'll go and meet you back here." I went to get in line. After a few seconds, Percy was next to me again.

"I'll ride with you," he said, but he still looked a little freaked out.

"You don't have to ride," I assured him.

"Nah, I'll go," he said. "It's not a real plane."

So we got on together and across from each other, since each plane sat one person. We spun around and around, picked up speed, then tilted vertically, still speeding up. I couldn't stop screaming, mostly because of the feeling that I was going to fall out of my airplane.

Finally, the ride tilted back to its normal position. As it slowed down, the dizziness caught up to me. My head was spinning, and I couldn't clear my vision for a good thirty seconds.

I got up feeling disoriented. I was laughing at how dizzy I was. I couldn't even walk in a straight line to where Percy was, across from me. He grasped my hands for support, which sent a warm feeling up my arms. "Wow," he muttered. "That was…intense."

We walked out of the ride still hand-in-hand, which I was kind of happy about. I hadn't held hands with Percy for a while, and it felt good. Percy was looking slightly green, and sat down on a bench. I sat next to him. "You alright?" I asked.

"Just…give me a couple seconds," he murmured. "My stomach hasn't stopped spinning yet." He rested his head on my shoulder. His hair tickled my cheek. I could feel my heart start to beat a little faster, and I couldn't help giggling. "Aw, you poor thing," I teased. "Airplane ride too much for you?"

He picked up his head and stuck his tongue out at me, which made me laugh, which made him laugh. His eyes were sparkling green.

"You still feeling bad, or you want to ride the Cyclone now?" I asked.

He smiled, and the color returned to his face. "Yeah," he said.

When we stood, he casually intertwined his fingers in mine. I didn't let him know that I noticed, aware of it or not, but he still knew how to make heart race.

* * *

><p>So can I say that the Cyclone is a classic? Have I mentioned that it's a national landmark?<p>

Before the ride started, Percy tapped my shoulder. "You know, there's a camera at on the first drop. I can't wait to see your face." He chuckled. "You ready for this?"

We all cheered as the ride started. It climbed higher and higher. As we approached the top, I grasped Percy's hand. He looked kind of surprised. "You scared already?" he taunted.

I made a face at him, and then I raised our hands, like we were sharing a victory. "Bet no one's ever taken their picture like this, huh?" I mused.

Percy looked at me, then ahead. We had about five seconds until the drop. He looked back at me and grinned. "I don't think so," he laughed. "But let's be the first, Wise Girl."

We got off and ran to see our picture. It made us both crack up. Percy went to buy it, and then handed it to me. "Here. For when you go home tomorrow."

I punched him playfully on the shoulder. "You dork," I told him. "Thanks, Seaweed Brain."

"No problem," he laughed. "Oh, and by the way," he added, "we have one more ride before we go back to the apartment."

* * *

><p>The Wonder Wheel. Another landmark, by the way. It was beautiful, changing colors like a firework. I imagined sitting at the top of that Ferris wheel with Percy right next to me. It was fun to know that it was about to happen for real. <em>Gosh, Percy, you are a huge dork sometimes,<em> I thought. _This is what it was supposed to be like since last summer, since chasing each other down Half-Blood Hill, since the whole underwater kiss! What is taking you so long, Seaweed Brain? _I didn't realize that this whole thing was just as much my fault.

We rode slowly to the top, and on the way up, I rested my head on his shoulder.

Percy sighed. "This feels much better than fighting, doesn't it?"

"Yeah…" I murmured. _Yes, it sure does. _But for some reason I was caught off by what he did when we got to the top.

I could see all of the city lights, sparkling like the noon sun on the ocean. _Why does everything have to remind me of him?_

It was breathtakingly beautiful. "That's amazing," I whispered. I looked at him, and he was smiling. "What?" I asked.

"This is _a lot_ better than fighting," he whispered. Then, he took my face in his hands and kissed me sweetly. My head was floating. His lips tasted sweet like candy. _I forgot how good this feels,_ I thought. _Haven't done this in months. Don't pull away yet…_

Even though we were already at the bottom of the wheel, I was kind of disappointed when he finally did pull away. But he kept my face in his hands and touched his forehead to mine. His cheeks were bright pink, and he was smiling shyly.

I laughed. "Why are _you_ blushing?"

"Why do you feel the need to make fun of me?" he breathed. But he was grinning. "And you're blushing, just as much as I am, Wise Girl."

I smiled, but I could feel the burning in my face.

The ride stopped, but I really didn't want to get off yet. But we had to, since it was close to midnight. We met Percy's mom at the boardwalk, and she saw us smiling. "So I'm guessing you two had fun today. No fighting?"

"None," we said simultaneously. Percy wrapped his arm around my waist.

His mother smiled. "That was the goal," she said.

* * *

><p>That night, as we were about to fall asleep, a question nagged at the back of my head. I wasn't sure if Percy was asleep yet, but I decided to ask anyway. "Percy?"<p>

"Mm hm?" He sounded like he was on the verge of unconsciousness.

I hesitated, then said, "I have one more question."

He sat up and repositioned himself so that his face was close to mine. The blue light from his fish tank made his eyes look turquoise (not to mention hiding my blush pretty well). "Yeah?"

I could feel my face growing hotter and hotter, but I managed, "Why did you…kiss me back there, on the Wonder Wheel?"

He raised an eyebrow for a second, then looked down at the edge of his bed, embarrassed. "Um, well…" he stammered. "…I don't know, I guess I just…wanted to see if whatever was there back at the canoe lake could…" he shrugged, "could be saved, you know?"

I'd thought about that, too. I had wondered that for a while, wondered if we could ever be with each other, like we had seemed to be at camp, when he kissed me in the canoe lake. I wanted us to be, but there's something just so terrifying about not being able to see into the head of the person you care about. I suppose this weekend had been a good test. But with all of the jealousy this weekend, it didn't seem very hopeful…

"Now I have a question," Percy whispered. "What happened this weekend? This was supposed to be fun, but it wasn't. All we did was fight with each other, because of crushes that we _used_ to have."

I nodded. "Yeah. Stupid, huh?"

"So stupid," he murmured. "So…one more question. Do you really like me?"

I don't know why, but I started laughing. Maybe because all the tension between us felt like it had suddenly been lifted, like the feeling of getting off of the rollercoaster, and I felt so much better, I couldn't stop laughing. "You want the truth?" I giggled. "Here's the truth. You're really clueless if you can't see that I like you, Seaweed Brain."

"You're laughing at me," he pouted. "Again."

"Of course I like you, Percy," I told him. I raised an eyebrow at him, still smiling, giving him the "look" I knew annoyed him, because it made him blush. But it was cute. So I sat up and kneeled so our faces were almost touching. I was so close, I could feel the heat coming from his cheeks. "Why? Do you really like me?"

He laughed nervously, but he nodded. "Yeah. In the words of someone I know, 'I don't kiss people I don't like.'"

I laughed again as he leaned down to kiss me again. When he pulled away, he whispered, "Does that answer your question, Wise Girl?"

_Steady your breathing, Annabeth. Don't hyperventilate. _All I could get out was, "Uh huh."

I don't remember what time we finally fell asleep. But I do remember waking up with a smile on my face, then a wave of sadness. I had to go home today.

* * *

><p><strong>I'm going to be updating <strong>_**Cold as Ice**_** sooner than this, I promise. Thanks for your patience and love! Show some of that love with some reviews please! **

**~Mandi2341**


	8. Kiss the Girl

**Author's Note: Okay, guys, FINAL CHAPTER! I'm sorry it took so long to write, but I had the most serious case of writer's block you can imagine. For a LONG time, I had absolutely no idea what to write about. That's why you really shouldn't make stuff up as you go along, okay? That's my PSA for the day. HAVE SOME SORT OF PLAN WHEN YOU WRITE!**

**DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN PJO...OR **_**THE LITTLE MERMAID**_**. (Don't ask, just enjoy)**

**Have fun!**

* * *

><p>Percy's POV<p>

That was probably one of the bravest things I'd ever done, kissing Annabeth on the Wonder Wheel. And I was definitely glad I'd done it. The entire weekend had pretty much sucked. I was beginning to think I'd lost any chance I had to be more than just friends with her.

But…since last night, my hopes were going up a little bit more.

That night I didn't have any dreams, thankfully. As a matter of fact, I slept better than I had in a while. I didn't wake up until Annabeth gently shook my shoulder. "Hey, Seaweed Brain," she whispered in my ear.

I turned over toward her voice and opened my eyes. My vision was blurry with sleep, but I saw her halo of princess curls. I tried for my best half-awake smile. "Morning," I yawned.

Annabeth laughed. "You missed morning," she told me. "It's 12:30."

_No way,_ I thought. I sat up and looked at the clock. Sure enough, it read 12:31 P.M. I groaned, letting my head hit the pillow again. I really hated sleeping in the afternoon. It made me feel drowsy all day. I rubbed the sleep out of my eyes. "Aw, you should've woken me up earlier," I complained.

When my sight was clearer, I saw she was already dressed in a blue T-shirt and jeans. She shrugged. "You were so sound asleep; I didn't feel like waking you up on a Sunday morning."

I smirked and held up my arms. "Help me up," I said. "I'm lazy."

She rolled her eyes, but she laughed, grasping my wrists and pulling me up until I was kneeling on the bed. Then, I decided to entwine my fingers in hers and sneak in a kiss. It was a quick kiss—our lips barely touched—but it still managed to give me butterflies. Annabeth was blushing a little bit, but she was giving me the "look." It annoyed me, because she knew it made my heart race, and she had no qualms using it against me.

Annabeth playfully pushed me off of her and stood up. "Get dressed," she laughed.

"You sure you don't want to watch?" I chuckled quietly to myself, remembering her walking in on me getting dressed the other day. I didn't think she'd heard me, but she paused at the door.

"You're getting gutsy," she muttered, and then headed out towards the kitchen. But I was sure I caught her smile and blush a little more.

Feeling a little satisfied, I got up, showered, and threw on some jeans and a T-shirt, tied the small band around my ankle and my camp necklace around my neck. Then I made my own way to the kitchen. I was starving.

I found my mom washing dishes while Annabeth ate a sandwich that had been cut into two triangular halves. "Can I have a sandwich?" I asked, my stomach growling.

Annabeth glanced at me. "Don't be lazy," she smirked. "Go make your own."

I pretended to pout as my mom laughed. I was happy Annabeth and I were getting along again, and possibly as more than friends. I wrapped my arms around her shoulders and rested my chin on the top of her head.

She stopped eating and giggled, attempting to look up at me. "Can you get off?" she laughed. "I'm trying to eat my lunch. And you haven't even eaten breakfast yet."

I shrugged. "You can still eat; I'm not keeping you from that. And technically," I added, "Breakfast is just your first meal of the day. So…this will count as my breakfast." Before she could protest, I grabbed the uneaten half of her sandwich and took a bite.

"Hey!" Annabeth stood and tried to take it back, but I held it up out of her reach. I was thankful for the few inches I'd gained over her. "Come on, Percy, give it back!"

"You want it back?" I teased, taking another bite and filling my mouth with food, so my next words were warped. "You sure?"

"Percy, give her back her sandwich," my mom laughed.

Annabeth punched me on the shoulder. "Yeah, kelp-for-brains," she agreed.

"I haven't eaten anything yet!" I protested. "_Someone_ forgot to wake me up in time for breakfast." I glared at Annabeth. "And besides, isn't breakfast like, the most important meal of the day or something?"

Annabeth rolled her eyes, which gleamed like silver. "Yeah, but you're sixteen. Make your own breakfast instead of stealing mine."

"No need to be stingy," I laughed, finishing off the sandwich and brushing the crumbs off my hands. "You haven't finished that half." I pointed to the sandwich still on the plate. Annabeth sighed and sat back down. I sat next to her.

My mom dried her hands on a dishtowel and glanced at us. "So, are you kids going out today?" she asked.

Annabeth and I looked at each other. "Well," Annabeth said, "I mean, I'm going back home tonight. I promised my brothers."

I had totally forgotten about that. My heart sank a bit; just when the weekend was starting to get better, Annabeth had to leave. I didn't want to go back to the awkward in-between phase we'd been stuck in for almost a year. "What time are you leaving?" I asked her.

She shrugged, staring out the window with a wistful expression on her face. "Not too late," she said. "We have school tomorrow."

"Ugh, don't remind me about school," I groaned.

"Why don't you guys go to Central Park?" Paul's voice came from the living room. "It's really nice outside right now."

Annabeth and I looked at each other. "Why not?" I said.

* * *

><p>So Annabeth and I found ourselves taking a walk through Central Park, watching joggers and kids flying kites and playing soccer. From where we were, I could see the lake. It sparkled in the sunlight as a bunch of different couples rowed out on it.<p>

Annabeth caught me staring at it. "You want to go," she said with a smile. It wasn't a question; it was a statement of observation.

"Is it that obvious?" I smirked.

She playfully bumped me with her hip. "Told you I can see it in your eyes," she reminded me. Then, when she thought I wouldn't notice, she threaded her fingers through mine. It made my hand tingle all the way up my arm to my shoulder.

"Then what are we waiting for, Wise Girl?" Hand-in-hand we made our way to the lake.

I led Annabeth over to the boat rental. I'd actually only done this one other time, with my mom when I was eight, and I wasn't sure if the guy at the front desk would even let two teenagers rent a boat by themselves. I got up to pay the rental with Annabeth by my side, and the guy asked how old we were.

"Uh, sixteen," I answered honestly.

He nodded, smiling. "Alright," he chuckled, handing us two lifejackets. "You guys have an hour with the boat."

Annabeth smiled back. "Thanks," she said, and took the lifejackets from him.

"No problem." Then he looked at me and lowered his voice. "You dating her?" he asked me.

I hesitated, blushing. Technically the answer was no, but I wanted the answer to be yes. So I gave a nervous laugh and said, "Hopefully after this I will be."

The dude gave a wink as I turned to leave. "Go get her," he chuckled.

"Thanks," I said over my shoulder, feeling awkward but kind of confident as well.

After I helped Annabeth into the boat, I set aside the lifejackets. "One of the advantages of being with me," I told her, "is that you never need lifejackets."

Annabeth laughed. She had such a cute laugh; it was hard not to laugh with her.

I willed the currents of the lake to carry us along as we talked. At one point I asked her about her leg injury from her hellhound fight a few days ago.

She looked a little surprised that I'd remembered that, and she glanced down at her leg, which now had two long pink scars where she had gotten bitten. "It's a lot better now, obviously," she said, shrugging. "I'd almost forgotten about it."

"Yeah…" I stared off, trying to think of how to fill the imminent awkward silence. "You know, all weekend we've been arguing over answers to questions you've asked me."

Annabeth looked at me warily, but she didn't say anything.

"But I haven't had a chance to ask you any questions," I pointed out.

The wariness only became more evident on her face. "Ask whatever you want," she said, but I thought I could sense her mental shields getting ready to go up.

I took a deep breath. I had a question that had been bothering me for the longest time, but I'd been reluctant to ask for fear of opening up another box of hurt. "About Luke," I started, and Annabeth rolled her eyes.

"What?" she sighed, exasperated.

"Last summer, when you said you didn't…love him," I continued, feeling a little guilty for bringing it up, "what did you mean by that? When we first met, you looked like you had a crush on him."

Her cheeks went pink. She took a while to answer. "I mean…a middle school crush," she finally admitted. "I'd grown up with him; he took care of me. But I was never, like, _in love_ with him. In the end, he was like my brother, okay?"

I nodded, feeling slightly relieved.

Annabeth stared at the water. "Anymore questions about past crushes that we need closure for? Because I feel like I'm getting emotional whiplash from this whole weekend."

I frowned. "What do you mean?"

She gave another sigh of frustration. "I mean, where exactly are we going, _if_ we're going anywhere? We went from friendly, to arguing, to kissing…and back to talking about old crushes again?" She shook her head. "What happened? I thought…well, since last summer…" Her voice trailed off and her eyes found the water again.

I felt the same way she did. When summer ended, I thought we'd be going on dates, holding hands in the school hallways, sneaking kisses on the stairwells, or something. But it seemed like we were stuck in the Flirty Friend Zone. "I guess…I don't know," I murmured. "I mean, we've been friends for so long, I guess I didn't know how to be, like, _more_ than that. Though I wanted to be," I added quickly, and immediately I felt uncomfortably hot.

Annabeth was suppressing a smile. "Maybe we can…still get a late start?" she suggested.

My heart was racing, and I blinked. My throat felt dry, but I managed, "All these leftover feelings are getting in the way. Luke, Calypso…any other girl I might have crushed on or guy you might have crushed on."

Annabeth shrugged. "I think I can manage to hang on to you," she said quietly, giving me the "look" again.

"You're a girl of your word," I told her. "You did mention that you'd never make my life easy."

"And I keep my word," she whispered. "So when I say I can hold onto you, I mean it."

At that moment I felt like Eric in _The Little Mermaid_—sitting in a rowboat on the lake, staring at the beautiful girl in front of me. _Sha-la-la-la-la-la my, oh my, is this boy too shy? _I asked myself. I could hear the whispers of the tiny fish in the lake. They could hear my thoughts just as well as I could hear theirs, so they knew exactly what I was thinking about. And they were encouraging me. _Come on, come on! Kiss her, kiss her!_

I smiled. Looking at Annabeth, her blond curls falling perfectly over her shoulder, owl earrings gleaming in the sunlight, gray eyes sparkling like silver, I thought to myself, _This boy's definitely going to kiss the girl._

And I did, offhandedly hoping that no electric eels would tip our boat over and ruin the moment.

* * *

><p>Annabeth's POV<p>

It was sunset when we finally left Central Park. I honestly didn't want to leave, because I finally felt like we had moved on from being just friends, especially after Percy kissing me that morning and then again on the lake. It was like he already considered me his girlfriend. Not that I objected, but it was making him a lot braver.

We walked home hand-in-hand, and I knew we looked like a real couple. Maybe we _were_ a real couple. I couldn't help smiling the entire way back to the apartment. I thought, maybe I could be a little more mature and not let past stuff bother me…especially if the reward is getting the chance to date Percy. Because it was out in the open for pretty much everyone—I liked Percy. I'd always thought he was cute and funny, and he had the biggest heart of anyone I've ever met. Who _wouldn't_ want a boyfriend like that? And now, I might have finally gotten one.

Once we were inside, I started to pack my stuff to go home. Percy just sat on his bed, watching me with a hint of sadness on his face. When I was finished, I shouldered my duffle bag and made my way to the kitchen. It was about six-thirty.

Percy's mom and stepdad were in the living room watching TV. When they saw me, they both got up. "Are you leaving already, Annabeth?" Ms. Jackson asked me.

I nodded. "Yeah," I sighed. "I told my little brothers I'd be back by Sunday night."

Percy threw an arm around my shoulder. "Can't stay for dinner?" he offered, wearing his hopeful face.

I shook my head. "I better get going. Probably should eat dinner with my family anyway, you know?"

His face fell a little bit, but he nodded. "Okay. I'll drop you off…if you want me to."

I raised an eyebrow. "You can drive?" I asked him.

He smirked. "You didn't know?" He dug into his pocket and brought out his license. "Ta-da," he sang proudly.

I laughed. "I don't know if I trust you as my driver, Seaweed Brain," I teased.

He leaned in close to me, the smirk showing no sign of going away soon. "I'm an excellent driver," he assured me. "Now, come on."

"Fine," I said. "Thank you so much for everything!" I called over my shoulder to the adults as I headed out the door.

Before Percy closed it, I heard back, "Any time, Annabeth!"

Walking down the hallway, I felt a sense of sadness, which didn't make any logical sense, because I'd be seeing Percy again tomorrow at school, and every day after that, and I'd see him again at camp over the summer. It wasn't like he was going anywhere, and it wasn't like I was going anywhere. I tried to ask myself why I was sad, but I didn't have an answer.

It turns out that Percy actually was a decent driver. He got us to my house in Brooklyn in one piece. He walked me up to my door, and through the windows I could see my dad was waiting. So he hadn't forgotten my promise, either. He was anxious for me to come home, too. He'd cared enough to wait for me.

We stopped in front of the door, but my dad didn't open it. I guess he could tell when teenagers needed some privacy. I smiled at Percy. "Thanks a lot," I told him, and wrapped my arms around him. "For everything."

"No problem, Wise Girl," he murmured in my ear. It felt great to have his arms around me again. My stomach was full of butterflies, but when he pulled away, I kept my arms around his neck, and I leaned in and kissed him one more time.

When I pulled away this time, Percy was blushing but wearing that shy smile I found so adorable. "So…" he whispered. "…does this mean we're not…just friends anymore?"

"I think so," I whispered back.

Percy chuckled as he let go of my waist and headed back to his car. Before he opened the driver-side door, though, he called back to me. "Hey, Annabeth?"

"Yeah?"

He looked at the ground for a moment, then back at me. "Would you like to go out Friday night?"

I couldn't help the giggle that escaped my mouth. I pretended to think about it, just to tease him, but of course I nodded. "Sure," I called back. "I'd like that very much."

I caught him beaming as he drove away, and I made my way back to my home sweet home.

Dad hugged me, and so did my brothers. "You kept your promise!" Matthew exclaimed.

"Yeah," Bobby agreed. "Usually you don't come back for months."

I sighed, messing up their hair. "Yeah, well, I'm back," I said.

"Good to have you back, Annabeth," Dad said.

My stepmom came into the room, arms folded. We just looked at each other for a few seconds. Finally, she said, "I'm glad you came back, Annabeth."

I nodded, not sure what to say to her. I decided on, "Me too, I guess."

"Did you enjoy yourself at your friend's house?" she asked.

That's when the twins shared a glance and laughed. "Her _boyfriend_, you mean," Bobby corrected.

"We saw you out there, making out with him," Matthew laughed.

I frowned, blushing. "We weren't making out," I told them. "We just…kissed. That's all."

"But you don't deny that he's your boyfriend," Bobby said.

I shook my head. "Nope. I don't deny it at all."

"Ohhhh!" they cheered, and started chanting, "Annie's got a boyfriend! Annie's got a boyfriend!"

But I didn't mind too much. And for the first time in years, my family and I enjoyed a dinner together, just talking and no arguing. I guess I was just in a good mood. Because I had a date with the son of Poseidon on Friday.

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><p><strong>So thank you all so much for reading and reviewing this story! No joking, I got the idea for this story 3 YEARS AGO. I remember writing it in this little notebook, and I think PixieKindOfCrazy told me I should write it. And I've finally finished it. My first multi-chapter story, complete. BTW thanks Pixie for beta-ing when you could. ^_-<strong>

**You guys are awesome, and I really appreciate the love…and the patience. Especially the patience. But this story was so very fun to write and I hope it was as fun to read.**

**Thank you so much,**

**~Mandi2341**


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